Holiday Hel
by PassionatelyHiddlestoned
Summary: Thor, Loki, Jane Foster, and Darcy Lewis are invited to Tony and Pepper's annual Christmas Party at the tower. Thor and Loki rent a car, and drive to New Mexico to pick up the two women, and all four take the road trip from the small town to New York. But the night before Christmas Eve, a blizzard hits, and they make a deadly detour...
1. Chapter 1

"Hurry up, Thor, we're going to be late!"

Loki's voice rang out around the corner of the palace, as the god stood and tapped his foot. The two had been taking care of some things on Asgard, but were returning to their places on Earth for the holidays.

Thor came around the corner. "Hold on brother, I'm merely preparing for the long journey ahead of us," the older god said as he picked up two bags, filled with food no doubt.

"Do you have the Midgardian currency?" Loki asked anxiously. "Yes." "Do you have the proper licence?" "Yes, Jane took me to get one last time I was on Earth. Calm your nerves! All is well."

Loki grumbled. "All is never well with you." Thor turned to him with a smirk. "I should be able to say the same for you."

The two walked out to the bifrost with their things prepared for the drive.

It was Christmas Eve in two days on Earth, and Thor and Loki had been invited to Tony Stark and Pepper Potts' annual Christmas Party. Loki hadn't been originally invited, but Thor insisted on bringing his brother.

Of course Jane had also been invited, since she was Thor's girlfriend, and Darcy had wanted to come too. So, now it had turned into a four-person road trip to New York.

Thor and Loki had agreed to pick the two women up at their lab in New Mexico around mid-day on Midgardian time, but first, Thor had to get a rental car.

"Thor, all I'm saying is… maybe it would be a better idea if **I** drive! I mean, you got _hit_ by a car twice some years ago, do you not remember?"

Thor chuckled, and waved him off. "I passed my 'driver's test' quite easily Loki, there's no need to fret over such things."

Loki nodded uneasily, and Heimdall greeted the two as they arrived. "Hello, my lords. To Earth then?" "Yes, Heimdall. We are going to pick up Lady Jane and Lady Darcy!" "So I've seen." He lifted his sword of transportation at the ready.

"Enjoy yourselves at the party," he said with a slight smile, and brought down the sword.

The two whizzed off into space through the colourful spiral, and eventually landed on Earth. They walked over to the car rental, and Thor surveyed their options.

"Hey, there folks!" said the guy at the cash. "Whatcha lookin' for this fine holiday season?" Loki turned to him. "We are looking for a suitable, safe, and high functioning automobile to transport four passengers to a lengthy-in-distance location."

The man just blinked. "Uh, well, we got a few you can choose from!" He gestured out to the lot, and the brothers turned.

There were four cars sitting there. One was a rust bucket; one was a beaten up station wagon with bumps all over; one was a reasonably shiny one, but cramped up, and the last one had only three wheels.

Loki looked back at the man in disbelief, and he shrugged. "We don't get many people rentin' round here. Most people just buy their own car new and drive that around!" Loki scoffed. "This particular area is so small, anyone could walk for twenty minutes and have crossed the town."

Thor was already looking at the cars as Loki went over. "This one seems suitable," Thor said, inspecting the shiny one. "How are we all going to fit in there?" "Well…. what about this station wagon vehicle then?"

Loki looked at the two other cars, then back at the station wagon, and sighed. "I suppose that's our, how they say here, 'best bet.'"

So the two rented the car, and drove off to the pick up point by Jane's trailer.

"Hey!" Jane shouted happily as they pulled up. Darcy was scrolling through her Ipod, and dancing with her earphones in. Jane came up to the car window. "Thanks for the drive." Thor leaned over Loki to kiss Jane, much to Loki's annoyance. Darcy hadn't noticed they had pulled up, and was still standing with her Ipod.

Jane went over and punched her in the arm. Thor and Loki raised an eyebrow, and Darcy looked up. "Ow… sorry… Oh, hey guys!" The two came over.

"Loki," Thor whispered, "Let Jane sit in the front." Loki scowled. "No! I helped choose this vehicle, I deserve a spot at the front!" "But she's my girlfriend!" "I'm not moving! You will not force me to sit in the back, like some lesser being!" "BROTHER, MOVE TO THE BACK!"

Loki could see the sky overhead begin to cloud, and heard thunder rumble in the distance. He sighed angrily. "Fine, Thor. You always bully me into everything." He got up, cursing and growling as he slipped into the back seat with Darcy.

"Gosh!" said Jane as she settled in beside Thor, "It'll be so nice to have a white Christmas!" Darcy snorted as she took out her headphones. "Yeah, cause we get squat around here," she said, surveying the dry desert heat.

Loki took out the map. "Thor, why didn't we simply fly?" "I don't trust mortal airways, brother." "Then why didn't we fly _legitimately_?" Thor didn't say anything for a second. "I didn't think of that…" Loki threw his hands up, and muttered under his breath, "Idiot."

"Well, we have the car now, so we might as well just drive," said Jane nervously, since she hated flying, even with Thor's arms around her.

"We've got a lot of driving to do," Loki said, looking at the map. "And that is why we will travel fast," replied Thor with a smile, as they shot off at 80 miles/hour in a 50 zone.

* * *

A few hours later, they had each occupied themselves with something. Jane was painting her toenails in a red and green pattern, Thor was humming along to the Christmas CD she had brought, Darcy was listening to her loud music through her headphones again, and Loki was trying to sleep.

Finally, Loki balled up his fists and snarled. "Will someone PLEASE tell her to TURN DOWN her music?!" Darcy heard him, and took out her earphones. "Hey, you should be glad it's me and not Eric! He would be talking all the way there. Plus he hates you."

Loki frowned, and curled back up. "Here, brother," Thor said, passing back furry earmuffs to block out the noise. Loki snatched them up, and relaxed a bit.

They kept driving throughout the day, going through Oklahoma. It started to blow snow through there, so they pulled off the highway into a gas station to change into winter clothes.

Darcy put on a long black coat with her usual red toque, Jane put on a puffy pink coat with brown earmuffs, Thor had on a red parka with a hat that had ridiculous looking earflaps, and Loki just stayed in shorts and a Tshirt, since he was immune to cold.

Jane shivered as she turned to Loki. "Just looking at you makes me cold!" she said, regarding his bare arms and long legs exposed to the snow. Thor laughed. "Loki is a frost giant, do not forget. He is susceptible to cold." Jane nodded, but handed him a hat. "Here… just… wear this in case."

Loki looked down at the green hat, which had a big fluffy pom pom on top. Thor looked at him, silently telling him to humour Jane, and he sighed. At least it was green.

They went back to the car, and noticed that the wind had picked up. "We're going to have to stop for the night soon," Darcy said, looking out at the evening sky. "You are right," agreed Thor, "Loki, is there a place to stay anywhere around here on the map?"

Loki looked down at the paper. "I do not think so…" Thor took it, and looked at it. "Ah! There is one just a few mortal blocks away!" Loki sighed, and rubbed his temples. "You're holding it upside down, you oaf." Thor turned it, and pouted as he realized Loki was right, and there was nothing for miles.

"We can sleep in the car," suggested Jane, "I brought some blankets." Loki looked at her in disbelief. "Blankets? You brought _blankets_ with you for a Christmas party?" "I'm resourceful!"

"I suppose that is our only option," said Thor thoughtfully, and pulled over into the parking lot of an empty grocery store that was closed for the night.

Darcy yawned. "Well, goodnight guys!" She stretched her feet out over Loki's knees, and the god sputtered. "NO. I am drawing the line, you will not keep your legs on me!" Darcy frowned, and layed her head down by the window. "Touchy."

Loki had to keep his long legs bent, but put his hands under his head for a pillow against the frosty window. As Darcy began snoring, her legs stretched out over his knees again. He just sighed, but didn't say anything.

In the front, Thor and Jane had cuddled up together under the blanket. "Goodnight, sweetie," Jane said, and nuzzled into Thor's neck, his stubble grazing the top of her head. They fell asleep, and Loki tried to cover his ears as his brother snored loudly.

How can everyone sleep through that noise? He wondered to himself, and looked out the window. He could practically see the frigid snow blowing through the wind outside, icicles forming on everything in sight. It reminded him of his birth planet, Jotunheim.

Loki hated these moments. When everyone went to sleep, and he was left alone with his own very awake mind. He didn't like it, seeing as it always wandered back to the events of years ago.

He closed his eyes, and shook his head. He would go to sleep now, and wake up tomorrow morning. He pulled the green hat down over his eyes, and dozed off.

Little did he or the rest of them know, this was one of their last nights of peace before what was sure to be a trip through holiday hel.


	2. Chapter 2

The two in the back awoke to the sound of Christmas music coming through the stereo. "Ugh, why are you playing Jingle Bells at this unearthly hour?!" groaned Darcy. "For once, I agree with the intern," Loki said in annoyance, "Turn that noise off!"

Thor and Jane had been up for a while, playing music while chatting and waiting for the others to wake up. Jane pouted. "You guys are just scrooges!" Loki frowned. "Scrooges?" "Yeah. You know, from a Christmas Carol?" Thor and Loki both looked at her blankly.

"Well, I'm adding that to the list of things we have got to watch over the holidays," she stated, sitting up higher in her seat. Loki rubbed his temples. "We'd better keep driving; we've got a lot of road to cover, Thor." Thor nodded, and shifted in his seat to drive. They switched the song to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause." Loki sighed. "I fail to understand the fascination with this portly bearded fellow who visits upon the Eve of Christmas… why would anyone be excited to know that a strange man was invading their home in the middle of the night and leaving who knows what in their house?"

"Because," Jane said, "He represents the Christmas spirit. He's jolly, he's giving, and he makes you laugh." Loki looked at the CD cover, with Santa's face smiling back at him. "He makes me want to kill somebody," he muttered. "Did you say something, brother?" Thor asked. "Never mind, Thor."

The car roared to life after a little protest from the icy engine, and they got back on the highway heading east. "Approximately how many days have we got left to travel?" Darcy yawned, removing her legs from Loki's lap. "We should be at the man of iron's tower in New York by the eve of tonight's successor, punctual for the party," Thor said. Darcy stared blankly. "He means another day," Jane whispered. "Yes. If we are following the bearings properly." Loki sighed. "Of course we are, Thor. Remember who's in charge of the map here. Nothing ever goes wrong with m-"

His annoyed drawl was drowned out by the sound of the song "Santa Clause is Coming to Town," starting, and the off-key but merry trio singing along.

After a while, they started approaching the mountains, bringing them up to a higher elevation.

"Thor!" Loki growled, "Slow down! What in Valhalla are you trying to do, run us off the cliffs?!" Thor boomed with laughter from the front, looking back at him in the mirror. "Relax, brother! I am merely making good time in which to arrive." Loki just gulped, holding on for dear life as the groaning station wagon whizzed along the mountain pass.

Darcy took no notice of the exhilarating speed, since she, once again, had her IPod turned up to tune everyone out. Thor and Jane were talking about something like appetizers and debating whether or not they should bring wine with them to the party.

Loki took one of Darcy's earphones out. "As if this jolly festive music isn't nauseating enough, I now have to listen to your loud pulsing. It's drilling into my brain, and It's going to explode if I spend a minute longer in the middle of this!"

Darcy frowned. "Excuse me, Mister I Hate Everything Remotely Enjoyable, this is Deadmau5's new song, and it's not 'pulsing,' it's called _base._ Try it sometime, it might lighten your mood a little." At that, Loki rolled down his window, grabbed her IPod, and flung it over the cliff. Darcy watched with wide eyes as her device hurtled over the side of the mountain, and turned to Loki incredulously. "What. The. Actual. Hell?!" she enunciated. "I just loaded, like, 30 songs onto there!"

"What was that small box that just fell over the cliff?" Thor asked as he paused from their talking. Loki gave a mischievous grin. "It was the root of my irritance." Jane and Thor both gave questioning looks, but just went back to the conversation they were having.

The rest of the day was boring, and driving was routine and monotonous as they entered a stretch of quiet road, dark forest encircling them. It was almost blizzarding now as night set in, and it was getting hard to see the road. "This sure is a terrible storm," Jane observed, "Where are we now?" Loki looked at the map. "Maryland. We've got another day's worth of driving ahead of us"

"You know, with my IPod, this would be so much more bearable…" Darcy mumbled over crossed arms. "Oh, get over it," Loki snarled, "It was a simple electronic device, and you've been bitching about it for the whole afternoon! Gods, I almost wish I hadn't gotten rid of it, so you would just shut up about the damn thing!"

"Brother, to be fair, it wasn't nice of you to throw Darcy's musical mechanism out the window. How would you like it if I threw your dagger or your collection of books out the window?" Loki turned to Thor through narrowed eyes. "Well, Thor, let me tell you just what I would do if you ever did that. First, I would skewer-"

Jane coughed, and interrupted everyone. "Guys! Hey, come on, it's almost Christmas. Let's all try to get along, okay?" They all reluctantly nodded, and Thor looked away from the road to lean over and kiss Jane. "Thank you, Jane. You're always there to mediate us, and keep peace between us. I love-"

"THOR, THE ROAD!" Loki shouted as Thor swerved off the side of the back road into a deep snow bank.

There was silence for a few seconds as the sound of howling winter wind blew through the tall trees.

* * *

"Mmmph," Darcy groaned, rousing from the impact. She rubbed her head where it had hit the window, and squeezed her eyes shut at the bruise she knew she would she get there. She looked over at everyone, and the two gods moved as well. Loki swore under his breath, and Thor let out a gruff breath as he made sure everyone was alright. He looked over at Jane, who was lying against the seat with her eyes closed. "Jane!" Thor said, rolling her head up. There was a tiny stain of blood on her forehead, and Thor's eyes widened. "Jane?!"

Loki lost his snarky attitude as he realized what was going on, and Darcy worriedly sat forward. Thor shook her, and his breath became shallow. After a moment of waiting, she slowly opened her eyes. "Oh," Thor breathed, kissing her. She smiled slightly, wincing as she touched her forehead. "I'm okay…oww…"

"Here," Loki said, knitting his eyebrows. He leaned over, and tried to muster up a little magic to heal her wounds, but nothing came of his open palm. He frowned at the abscense of green smoke, and tried again. Still nothing.

Thor chuckled. "Out of practice, are we brother?" he asked, and Loki sneered at him. "I was merely trying to bring comfort to your girlfriend, Thor, but my magic doesn't seem to be working." Jane smiled sympathetically at him. "Thanks for trying." Loki nodded shortly, before dropping back into his careless demeanour and sitting back in his seat.

"Well…" Darcy said, looking around, "Looks like we're a little bit screwed." "We must check the vehicle, to see if it is fit to drive any longer, and look around the area to see if there is any establishment that can help us," Thor announced. "Wait, let me do it," Loki said, "I can last longer in the cold." They agreed, and he got out, unaffected by the blowing wind.

He leaned down to check the car, and discovered the whole first half was wedged pretty deeply into the snow bank. Gas dripped out onto the snow, leaking badly from an engine puncture, no doubt. The front tire on the right was also deflated, and Loki sighed before getting back into the car.

"I don't think we're going anywhere for a while," he said. Thor huffed. "Nonsense. Everyone, follow me. We shall fly the rest of the way." Jane nervously looked up. "Uh, why don't we wait for help to come?" "I doubt there's anyone around here for miles," Darcy said, looking around her at the extent of foreboding woods.

They all got out, and Thor took out Mjolnir from its place in the trunk. He stood in the middle of them, wrapping his large arms around them all and swinging his hammer. He forcefully thrust it to the sky, attempting to summon thunder and fly.

But nothing happened.

"Thor?" Loki asked. Thor frowned, and gripped his hammer even more tightly. "Hammer!" he called out to it, but still, nothing happened. Clouds did not swell, thunder did not sound, and most definitely, the foursome didn't lift an inch off the ground.

Thor dropped his arms, and shook his head. "I… I do not understand… why are my powers not working?" Loki crossed his arms. "It seems our powers are useless in this particular stretch of land." Thor angrily kicked snow. "This is absurd! In no way can the geography of Midgard overrule my ability to control thunder!" Loki shoved him. "If you would douse your ego for a moment, Thor, we might figure out what in Hel is going on."

They stood around for a second. "Got any ideas?" Darcy asked, shuffling her feet and stuffing her bare hands in her coat pocket. There was silence. Loki let out a breath. "Look, I'll go see if there's anything in the forest, a house, a shop… something! In the meantime, you all stay in the car, with the heat on. I shall return shortly."

They all nodded, and went back to the car. They sealed the doors and windows, making sure the heat was kept in and preserved for as long as possible. The Christmas music came back on as they started the engine again, but for some reason, the festive notes gave off a creepy sort of atmosphere mixed with the wind and the unavoidable darkness all around them.

Loki strode up the snowy hill into the forest above the marooned station wagon. He looked around, and shielded his eyes from the snow. He cursed the weather. "If not for this confusing situation that has left me momentarily powerless, I would be able to control the frost and give me a better view of things," he mumbled to himself.

As he walked deeper into the woods, a cold feeling took over his body. That was impossible… he was a frost giant! He didn't get cold… He looked around, and decided calling out was his best option.

"Hello?! Is there anyone that can hear my voice?!" he shouted, and heard his echo multiply. He was answered only by the whistling wind by his ears. He tried again, with no avail.

"This is all a bloody mess," he said to himself, thinking of the situation. All due to his brother's reckless driving. He knew he should've driven. He should've insisted, he should have-

Loki's train of thought derailed as he caught a glimpse of somebody walking in the distance. His eyes suddenly widened, and he walked as quickly as he could after the figure. He could make out a hood and very long arms and legs. "Hello!" he called, but the figure had disappeared through the gusting snow.

Loki frowned as he spun around in all directions. The figure was gone! Suddenly, as he kept looking, something caught his eye. He looked deep through a dark clearing free of trees, and saw something very disturbing indeed.

There, staring intently back at him, were five pairs of eyes. They weren't like any animal Loki had ever seen in his experiences on Midgard; but they surely didn't resemble any human either. They were unnatural. He stumbled back a few feet as the eyes observed him, unblinking and cold from the concealing darkness. It stirred a feeling of unease inside him, and he swallowed slowly.

As Loki was about to go and decide for himself what they were and what they were doing, he heard a piercing scream from back where the car had crashed.


	3. Chapter 3

Loki ran as fast as he could back through the blowing snow toward the car, and found Jane standing outside the back door, looking scared out of her mind.

"Why did you scream?" Loki asked, shielding his eyes from the snow. "I… I saw someone walking by the car, and of course, I got out and tried to see if he could help us, but when he turned, he…" she swallowed, "he didn't have a face!"

Loki looked confused. "No face?" Jane nodded, looking ready to cry. Loki's confused facial expression turned to a grim one of realization. "Did your stranger happen to be disproportionately tall and thin?" Jane nodded, and Thor got out.

"Sort of sounds like you, brother." Loki scowled at him. "This is a lot more serious than we think it is. It's not safe out here, not only with the possibility of freezing, but with those… whatever the hel those things are walking about-" "Thing_s_?" Jane asked, "I only mentioned one."

Loki sighed. "I… saw eyes in the forest." Darcy opened her door. "I'm sorry, did you say eyes?" Loki looked beyond her into the woods. "Yes. They were staring at me in the dark. I've got a terrible feeling about all of this. In a place where we can't use our powers, Heimdall is blind to us, and there is no one within miles, we are in an uncomfortably uncontrollable situation."

"So we are nothing more than men here?" Thor grumbled, frowning. "Basically," Loki muttered. Darcy threw her hands up. "How did we get into this whole thing, anyway?" Loki looked at Thor, who crossed his arms. "Hey, you were the one holding the map!" Darcy reminded Loki, "You should have known this place was here!"

Loki whipped around to face her. "This gods-forsaken area was not on the damn _map_, Darcy. This place isn't supposed to exist!" Darcy snorted. "Good excuse." Loki balled his hand into a fist, trying to contain himself, "Taking sides are we, Lewis?!"

"What do we do?" Jane asked, wrapping her arms around herself as she blew hair out of her mouth. Thor came up beside her, and wrapped her in a hug as he draped half his jacket over her. "We shall think of something." "Let's combine our brainpower, people," Darcy said.

Loki scoffed. "If we combine ours with Thor's, I think we'll actually lower our IQ some." Jane sighed. "Stop. Fighting!" There was silence. "You can safely fight once we're back in civilization."

They all thought for a second. "Wait… if we don't show up for the party, don't you think Tony and the others will think it odd?" Thor asked. "It's possible… but we shouldn't rely on that solution, for the iron man has no idea which path we took across country."

"What if… we tried to climb up the telephone pole and get cell service working?" Jane suggested. "It's a solid idea," Loki agreed, and he set off to do it himself. "Wait," Darcy said, "I'll…I'll do it. I was like, really good at climbing in high school."

Loki was hesitant, but nodded once, allowing her to go out that way. Darcy crossed her arms. "I need to borrow someone's cell, though, since Loki over here tossed mine of a cliff."

Jane dug in her coat pocket. "Here, use mine." She went over to the nearest pole, which was pretty far away from the car, and it was surrounded by eerie silence and dark woods.

She hummed to herself to feel better. "Oh the weather outside is frightful…" she murmured, "But the fire…. Is so delightful." She shivered, getting closer. "But since we've no place to go… let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

She finally reached the pole, and got out her cell, pulling her ear flaps further down over her face. "Okay, it'll only take a second…" she whispered, and held her phone out as she began to climb the metal rungs up to the top.

She watched the screen intently, wishing she had her glasses on or even with her at the moment, and squinted until she saw one bar blink up.

She nearly cried out in pure joy, and stuck it up higher, turning on her GPS. She started to call the first number on her list, which, she didn't actually remember when this was programmed in, was Bruce's.

Just then, she heard a crack in the woods. She gasped, and covered her mouth, wincing at how cold her hands were. The sound got closer, and she decided it would be a better idea to climb a little higher up the pole so that maybe, just maybe, she would be invisible from the blowing snow.

She took a step, and held her breath as she heard the noises incredibly close- she had never been this scared, not even when the Destroyer had arrived in New Mexico that one time.

She heard the dialling of her phone, and she climbed one rung higher to stay safe. Just as she heard Bruce's crackled, almost unidentifiable "hello?", her toe of her boot slipped on an icy run, sending her falling off the high wooden pole, grabbing at air.

She screamed, and landed, back first, in the snow. The air was knocked out of her, and she couldn't make a sound. She felt for her phone around her, but when she had fallen, it had slipped from her hands and somewhere else.

She coughed a few times, and then she was hit with a revelation that paralyzed her with fear- the sounds…

She looked around nervously, still unable to call for help, and then, suddenly, a twig snapped right behind her head.

"It has been an awfully long time," Thor worried, his brow furrowing. "Darcy's a resourceful girl," Jane said, biting her lip, "She knows what she's doing."

The three waited in silence, the only track to their waiting the faint howling of the cold, swirling wind.

After a few more moments, Jane sighed. "Okay, this is too long." Loki sighed as well, and they all walked over the way Darcy had gone.

"Darcy!" Jane called, and Thor boomed, "LADY DARCY, CAN YOU HEAR US?!" Loki frowned as he saw something purple sitting in the snow a few feet from the woods where the pole was.

A phone! Most likely Jane's.

"I found it," Loki said, and picked it up. He tried to turn it on. The screen was dim, and the service bar showed no signal, but there was some sort of GPS blinking.

Loki shook his head. "I should have gone, not her." "This was not your fault, brother," Thor said quietly, and Jane nodded. "We have to find her," she said, and the two gods nodded. "To the woods then?" Loki asked, eyebrows lifting.

"To the woods, to find our friend," Thor affirmed, taking off his hat and holding it over his heart.


End file.
